| The Fountain of Youth. We've all heard of it, the | | | | A, is the basic active ingredient for many wrinkle |
| spring that a drink from which grants an eternally | | | | creams and retinol- based creams are indeed often |
| youthful body. It is a legend we all at one time or | | | | more effective in the battle against wrinkles than is |
| another wish existed. If it did one can only imagine | | | | the case for other products. Retinol promotes the |
| how long it would be before it were completely | | | | development of new surface cells and also increases |
| drained. | | | | the amount of collagen in the skin, the combination |
| Who wouldn't want to recapture their youth - or at | | | | reducing though not completely eliminating, wrinkles. |
| least preserve it as long as possible? There is a wide | | | | Whereas retinol functions to reduce the severity of |
| variety of products, from wrinkle creams to vitamins, | | | | wrinkles, another popular ingredient is alpha hydroxy |
| designed to do just that. The brisk sales of these | | | | acid, AHA. AHAs chemically peel away the outer layer |
| anti-aging products demonstrate that, indeed, many | | | | of skin. The concentration is very low to prevent |
| women (and men!) intend to keep their skin looking | | | | serious damage, so the peeling effect while slight, |
| as youthful as it can, well into middle age. | | | | adds a glow the skin as new cells beneath the peeled |
| One of the hallmarks of youth is soft, smooth, | | | | away dead cells become visible. |
| moisturized skin that is free of laugh lines and | | | | The mere presence of one or both of these active |
| creases. Since wrinkles have come to be viewed as | | | | ingredients does not answer the question of which |
| one of the 'dead giveaways' of a person's age, | | | | product is better. The degree of concentration of |
| manufacturers have developed many varieties of | | | | the active ingredients is much more likely to |
| anti-aging moisturizers to launch an all-out attack on | | | | determine the effectiveness. A product with a higher |
| encroaching crow's feet. | | | | concentration of retinol may be much more effective |
| Now most consumers are probably a bit suspicious, | | | | in producing a more youthful look than a product |
| perhaps very suspicious of the claims made for the | | | | containing only a small amount of retinol. |
| products on the shelves. Some of the "magic" | | | | It never hurts to ask the question "Why are some |
| ingredients are well known, others are not. In any | | | | products better than others? or "Which wrinkle |
| event a good question to ask is how is the product | | | | creams would be most effective?" Asking the |
| going to react on my skin? There does not seem to | | | | question leads to getting the facts you need to |
| be a simple solution to what is really the best product | | | | make a choice, second best to the "Fountain of |
| for the individual. | | | | Youth" but a good choice nevertheless. |
| An active ingredient such as retinol, a form of vitamin | | | | |